Luke Blackham

A Clinton Township man remains behind bars after a drug raid last week at his mobile home turned up more than a pound and a half of marijuana, suspected cocaine, hundreds of prescription pills and $1,300, authorities said.

Luke A. Blackham, 28, is to face a hearing Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor drug charges stemming from the Oct. 28 raid at his home on Kozy Corner Road.

The Butler County Drug Task Force said it began investigating Blackham earlier this year after his name surfaced during a different drug investigation by Cranberry Township police. The information obtained was that he was dealing drugs, investigators said.

Officers eventually used “trash pulls” in September and October to help secure a search warrant for the defendant's home.

Trash pulls are a law enforcement technique in which officers go through a suspect's garbage, looking for potential evidence of possible crimes, such as drug activity.

Investigators said that during those pulls they collected numerous plastic bags with suspected methamphetamine and marijuana residue inside.

The county's emergency services unit assisted the task force in executing the warrant. Investigators said Blackham was at the home along with his girlfriend and another friend.

The search turned up nearly 26 ounces of marijuana that was packaged into small baggies, investigators said, and 2.8 grams of suspected cocaine.

Also found were 482 benzodiazepine pills, 26 amphetamine pills and 19 phentermine hydrochloride pills, officers said.

Benzodiazepines, which include brand name drugs such as Xanax, Valium and Klonopin, are commonly used for the treatment of anxiety, insomnia, seizures, social phobia and panic disorders.

Phentermine hydrochloride is an appetite suppressant and the most commonly prescribed drug for weight loss.

Authorities said all of the pills were stored in small, sealed bags.

Along with the suspected drugs and pills, investigators said, officers seized $1,300 in currency, a large amount of suspected drug-packaging materials, five digital scales and five cell phones.

The evidence gathered in the search, investigating task force officer Matthew Irvin, who also is a Cranberry Township police detective, said in his affidavit, was indicative of drug possession “with the intent to sell or distribute.”

Blackham was later arraigned on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $25,000 bond following arraignment.

Blackham's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday at the office of District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg. Online court records did not list an attorney for him.